Foster Care Payments Class Action Settlement

This web page provides information for State officials who were served with notice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1715 of a proposed amended settlement in a federal class action lawsuit that may affect class members residing in their states, and for the Attorney General of the United States.

The name of the lawsuit is Sheehey, et al. v Bhanot, Case No. CV13-00663 LEK-KSC, and is sometimes referred to by its original case name, Ah Chong v. McManaman.

Below you will find links to some of the documents from the lawsuit, including the Complaint, the First Amended Complaint, and the proposed amended settlement agreement.

UPDATE AS OF APRIL 4, 2018: The original (2017) settlement failed after the Hawaii Legislature did not appropriate the funds needed for the settlement during the 2017 legislative session. The parties subsequently engaged in further negotiations and agreed to amend the settlement terms to reduce the Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and to extend the deadlines and due dates for the settlement. This proposed amended settlement has been preliminarily approved by the Court.

The final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for May 21, 2018, at 9:45 a.m.

If you have any questions regarding the settlement, you may contact Deputy Attorney General Caron M. Inagaki at Caron.M.Inagaki@hawaii.gov.